Viking Socketted Spearhead

Displaying two repoussé registers of animals including lions, antelope and birds processing right between geometric borders, stylised flower heads to one terminal; attachment perforations to upper and lower edges; one rounded terminal, one terminating with a narrow arm and D-shaped lug; mounted on an adjustable custom-made display stand. 6.4 kg total, 35 cm high including stand

some restoration.

UK private collection before 2000. UK art market. Property of a London gentleman. Accompanied by an academic report by Raffaele D'Amato. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.11745-202242.

Protective belts were very popular in the Caucasus, especially among the Urartians, decorated with geometric motifs, or with images of warriors, animals, hunting and mythological tales. They were regarded as a personal item and eventually buried with the warrior.

Of Dutch lobster-tailed pot type, the neck-guard composed of four articulated sections; wide brim with a movable nasal-guard; tongue-shaped cheekpieces with ventilation rosettes and five bosses around the raised perimeter; the cheek-pieces re-attached. 1.54 kg, 26 cm



with Peter Bunting Antiques. The Kusmirek Collection, UK. Accompanied by a copy of Peter Bunting invoice.

The capeline or taschetto (capeline in English, derived from the word that in French indicates the hat) was a particular type of helmet widespread in Western Europe in the 17th century. It was a variant of the szyszak helmet used by the cavalry forces of the Ottoman Empire and Muscovy, as well as by the winged hussars of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the post-Renaissance era. The helmet was mainly used by armoured cavalrymen in various European armies of the 17th century, and it was one of the typical helmets of the Thirty Years' War.

Narrow triangular blade with raised median panel, scooped shoulders and short tang with pierced bulb finial. 370 grams, 45 cm



Ex German collection, Cologne, 1980-1990s.

The hilt of this magnificent sword would have originally been made of organic material. The forms of hilt are often replicated on cast metal counterparts. As proved by excavations of sites like Sangtarashan, stones were often used for decorating metal weapons, especially for bronze dagger pommels.